Something Different
by Angel-chan Desu
Summary: Lucina wants to try being a Pegasus Knight, if only temporarily. And Cynthia is the best person she knows that could teach her. Oneshot.


"Cynthia, could I ask you something?" The pegasus knight turned away from grooming her mount to see Lucina standing in the doorway to the stable.

Cynthia gave the pegasus a quick pat before responding, "Sure! What's up?"

Lucina entered the building properly, making her way toward Cynthia's stall, while casting quick glances at the variety of mounts within the stable."Nothing is wrong, thankfully. Things are quite peaceful in the camp right now," she said with a small smile. She turned to the pegasus and said, "He's a fine mount. You take good care of him."

Cynthia nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! He's a good boy and my best ally and friend! I wouldn't dream of neglecting him." She bit her lip, then chuckled nervously, giving the pegasus' nose a gentle rub, "Even if I sort of used to. But I swear, I didn't mean it!"

"I'm sure he's aware of this." Lucina chuckled.

The two young women shared a brief chuckle over this as the mount nickered along with them. Once they'd stopped, Cynthia asked. "So, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

"Well, it's more of a request, actually," Lucina said. She turned to admire the pegasus once more before asking, "I was wondering if you could train me as a pegasus knight. If only for a short while."

Cynthia blinked, confused. "Huh? Why?"

Lucina shifted on the spot, feeling ever so slightly uneasy. "I feel that it would be wise to try other professions. Many of the other soldiers around camp even suggest it, since it would let me gather more experience and skills. It'd also help with regards to mastering different weapons."

Cynthia nodded slowly as her friend explained herself, and once she'd finished, she nodded once more and said, "Okay then! That makes sense, yeah! I could do that."

Lucina smiled."Great! Thank you, Cynthia."

Cynthia laughed, "I'll always help out a friend in need. And hey, we can use my mount to train you!"

"Are you sure? I know he gets uneasy around humans sometimes. I wouldn't want to make him uncomfortable." Lucina said.

Cynthia waved off her friend's concerns as she replied, "Nah, he's fine, aren't ya boy?" She patted the mount's neck as he whinnied in response. "Besides," she continued, "he's a lot calmer now than he used to be- er, than he was in this time, as my mother's mount."

"Well, as long as you're sure he'd be okay with it. When should we start?" Lucina asked.

"We could always give this a try tomorrow when we reach the next town?" Cynthia suggested.

Lucina nodded in return."Very well. I look forward to it."

* * *

The Shepherds had arrived in the town early in the morning without any bother. Due to the fact that they would be remaining in the town for a few days in order to stock up and gather information for their travels, mini patrols had been sent out to find out where everything was in the town. One such patrol was that of Lucina, Kjelle, and Severa, and talk had turned to their rather quiet morning.

"And here was me thinking we'd get jumped before we reached town," Kjelle huffed.

Severa scoffed, "You sound like you wanted us to get attacked."

Kjelle frowned and shot back, "Wouldn't you appreciate the chance to get some extra training in?"

"Training?!"

But before Severa could comment further, Lucina quickly set herself between the two girls. "Either way, we should be grateful our morning was as uneventful as it was and that everyone is fit and well."

Murmurs of, "Of course." and "I suppose." came from Kjelle and Severa respectively as they both turned sharply away from each other. The young woman sighed at her friends' behaviour, however a loud yell from nearby stopped her from continuing any conversation.

"Lucina! Are you ready?" Cynthia screamed, attracting some looks from passing townspeople.

"Y-yes, I'm coming!" she shouted back. She turned to the two girls and said, "You both should check with Chrom for tasks to do. There will most likely be something to do, either training or collecting supplies for the next few days while we're here. Make sure to tell him that we found a market on this side of town." She left at that, hoping they would do as she had said and not just hang around on the streets continuing the argument.

Lucina walked over to join Cynthia, who suddenly exclaimed, "You're going to have to change clothes!"

"Wha- excuse me?"

Although she had already begun dragging Lucina along by the sleeve, Cynthia noticed her friend's taken aback expression and elaborated, to Lucina's relief. "I mean change your uniform. It doesn't matter how long you'll be training as a pegasus knight, you should always look the part." Her explanation was accompanied by a wagging finger, almost as though Cynthia were playfully scolding her teammate.

Lucina nodded slowly and muttered, "That does make sense."

"Right!" They came to a stop outside the town inn, where some members of the Shepherds had rented out rooms for the duration of their short stay.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure Cordelia was in here last I checked. You should be able to get a Pegasus Knight uniform off of her. I'll be in the field prepping up my mount for flight practise," Cynthia said, bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to dart off as soon as she could.

Lucina smiled, partially amused at Cynthia's endless amounts of energy. "Of course. I'll meet with you soon enough then. Thank you again for doing this."

Cynthia laughed and said before she finally ran off, "You're welcome, Lucina! Besides, what're friends for?"

* * *

By the time Lucina had made her way to the field outside the town, Cynthia had prepared her pegasus with the basic equipment necessary, such as a saddle, and a halter strapped to its head. Cynthia noticed Lucina approaching and halted her brushing of the mount's wings to run up to the woman.

"Lucina! You finally made it! You took a really long time."

Lucina grimaced sheepishly, "I'm sorry about that. It took us some time to find a uniform."

Cynthia led her toward the waiting pegasus, saying, "Well at least you found one in the end. Speaking of which, you really suit it!"

The compliment made Lucina blush slightly, and she muttered, "Th-thank you."

"All righty then!" Cynthia cheered as she quickly skipped the last few feet toward her grazing mount. She adjusted the saddle, saying over her shoulder to her friend, "We'll take it slow. First off, we'll get you on the pegasus but keep you grounded. Its best to see that you can ride an actual horse, but we'd still need to practise with a pegasus so you know how to hold yourself while on one. Okay?"

"I...Yes, that sounds alright for a first lesson. It sounds doable."

Cynthia stepped away from the mount and motioned to the saddle. "Then hop on! Let's jump right in!"

Lucina nodded, determined to get to work. She climbed up onto the saddle and set herself into position, letting out a surprised, "Whoa!" when the pegasus shifted underneath her.

"Don't worry, he's just getting used to your weight," Cynthia reassured her before she reached down to the ground and picked up a confusing arrangements of leather straps, which she attached to the mount's headgear. After placing the bit in the pegasus' mouth, she looped the reins over the winged horse's head and handed them to Lucina.

"We can go over equipment another time if you really want to stick in at this. Cause you are gonna need to know a lot about taking care of a pegasus and what each piece of tack is. But I'm sure you already know some things," the girl said, sounding surprisingly serious despite not dropping her cheery demeanor. Lucina simply nodded in response.

"Now before we actually get you both moving, you're going to have to budge forward a bit," Cynthia said as she also placed a hand on the pegasus' wing and gently lowered it, the wing on the opposite side following suit. As Lucina moved forward in the saddle, Cynthia then grabbed her leg, to her surprise, and lifted it over the wing to rest in front of it. Lucina quickly copied the action with her other leg and immediately, both wings rose again, feeling almost like a protective shield on either side of her. Meanwhile Cynthia began to explain, "Sorry I just did that. But the stance is important. Not so much on the ground, but in the air and when the pegasus is flying, it is oh so important how you sit.

"Your legs should be in front of the wings so they don't cause the pegasus - or any flying mount for the matter - any trouble while they're flying. And as for you, you need to keep your legs tightly tucked in since this also counts as a grip. Just a saddle and some reins alone won't be enough to keep you on your mount while in the air. If your grip loosens while you're in the air, you'd have to be a pretty skilled rider to stay on."

"I see," Lucina said under her breath. This was certainly a lot to take in, and she was still only grounded. She turned to Cynthia and couldn't help but comment, "Flying mount riders are a lot stronger than I would have first assumed."

Cynthia chuckled in response, "Yep, you do build up some serious leg muscles while doing this sort of thing." She gave the air a swift kick as if to prove her point, making Lucina chuckle herself.

"But anyway," Cynthia said, clearing her throat, "back to what we're doing. Like I said, this'll just be a nice stroll around the field and maybe into town so you can get the feel for riding a horse. Cause if I'm remembering right, you haven't ever rode a horse, have you?" The other woman shook her head.

"I never got the chance to learn. I can only assume that maybe I would've been taught somehow at some point by maybe Frederick or another rider from the Shepherds, but…" Lucina trailed off. She looked away, a sombre expression on her face, and even Cynthia's smile fell. Both young women were silent, neither knowing what to say until Cynthia shook her head and said, "Well, that's why we're here. We're going through this one step at a time, together!" The girl's enthusiasm brought a smile back onto Lucina's own face, and she nodded back.

"Of course. Then shall we?"

* * *

"Are you sure you haven't rode a horse before? You're a natural!" Cynthia gushed as they both returned to the field after a short trot through the town.

Lucina smiled nervously back as she replied, "Really? Because I don't quite feel like a natural. I know you said at one point that I didn't have to grip with my legs while grounded, but to be honest I feel as though that was the only reason I didn't fall off."

"On the plus side, at least you'd know what you'd be doing when we go flying. In fact, flying might be easier than riding for you," Cynthia laughed. She looked to the sky, shading her eyes as she focused on the sun.

"Actually," she continued, "we could probably squeeze in a quick flying lesson right now. It's only a little after noon, no-one's come calling for us yet for anything. It'd just be up to you." Lucina hesitated. While they indeed had the time, she wasn't so sure about whether or not she'd be able to handle getting off the ground. Her hesitation however only prompted Cynthia to say, "Y'know, I think you'd be able to do it. Normally, the flying part is really difficult, but honestly, things are different for lots of people. Tough things can come easily to some people. You've always seemed like that sort of person. To me at least."

They both regarded each other carefully, Lucina's wary expression meeting Cynthia's encouraging smile. Then with a sigh, Lucina conceded, "Alright, we'll try it since we have the daylight."

"Great! And besides, we can always stay near to the ground since you're still a beginner!" As if mirroring his rider's excitement, the pegasus gave a small hop and its wings a firm flap, all of which startled Lucina and made her tighten her grip on the reins.

"Okay, so you know you're have to grip firmly with your legs while in the air, and you should also know that you've have to sway with the pegasus while its flying just as you do while riding a horse on the ground. But it's a bit harder to judge how to move along with the pegasus so you just have to trust your mount while you're flying. Alright?" Lucina nodded, albeit nervously. Cynthia then moved to the pegasus' front and, giving his nose a rub, said, "You ready too, boy?" He responded by nuzzling her hand and letting out a quick snort.

"Good!" She stepped away from the mount and said, "Now to take off, just dig your heels in. But not too hard! And don't keep them digged in, or you'll go up higher. Just a quick dig should do for now!" With that she gave Lucina a thumbs up of encouragement. Lucina nodded. Her head buzzed with all the new information she'd learnt that day, however she kept her focus on what she needed to know at that moment.

"_Grip with your legs, keep hold of the reins, sway with the pegasus, dig in to lift off,"_ she thought, repeating the list over and over as she tightened her grip on the reins and shifted her legs into a more comfortable position. She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves and without hesitation, else she just procrastinate further, she dug her heels into the mount's side.

The pegasus' wings stretched out and up on either side of it, and then with a single strong flap, Lucina and the pegasus were in the air.

At first, the up-and-down motion of the pegasus as it kept itself above ground made Lucina nauseous, and she felt as though she would fall off already purely from how steeply the mount was angled. However, she kept her grip tight on the reins and she leaned forward so as to not fall backwards and hit the ground.

"You're doing it, Lucina, you're doing it!" Cynthia cheered, jumping on the spot. She then said, "Relax your upper body a bit, that should make it easier to move with the pegasus."

Indeed, Lucina did find that doing this made the movement a bit more comfortable, though it didn't lessen the queasy feeling within her. Nevertheless, she felt a smile spread on her face at having accomplished as much as she had so far in one day.

"See, I told you you'd be a natural at flying!" Cynthia laughed, "Okay, let's try moving now."

* * *

"That was a great first lesson. You did super well for your first try," Cynthia said as she and Lucina led the pegasus towards the town's stable, where the other mounts had been allowed to stay while the Shepherds were in town.

"Really?"

Cynthia nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Then again, you're pretty good at everything you do if you put your mind to it."

Lucina smiled at the compliment. "I wouldn't say that. I do try my hardest, but I can only get so far on my own. The only reason I did as well as I did today was because I had a good teacher. You really do know a lot about pegasi and being a Pegasus Knight."

They reached the stable, and as they led the mount to his temporary stall, Cynthia replied, "Of course I do! I want to be the very best Pegasus Knight I can be, maybe even as good as my mother was!"

Her wording caught Lucina off guard. "'Was'?"

"Huh?" Cynthia had already set about filling the feeding trough for the pegasus, she hadn't registered Lucina's question at first. However when she realised what she'd said, her grip on the bag of oats tightened and her smile didn't seem quite as genuine as she asked, "Di...did I say 'was'? I meant 'is'. Since she's alive now, in this time."

"Cynthia…" Lucina trailed off, unsure of what she could say. Cynthia switched the oats bag for the grooming brush, however she then turned back to Lucina, with her eyes watering slightly and a small smile on her face and said, "Sorry. I really shouldn't be such a downer after the day we've had."

Lucina shook her head and replied, "There's nothing wrong with feeling upset every now and then. Everyone has those moments when they feel down."

"But we're here now, in this time when all our parents are alive. Sure, there's still a war going on, and they're working hard to stop Grima from becoming powerful again, but we can help them! We can stop that future!" Cynthia argued, her hands clenching in determination.

"Of course, I won't fault you there. But we can't always be expected to take up arms for a battle, and then wear smiles afterwards during our free time." Lucina then placed a hand on Cynthia's shoulder, gave it a comforting squeeze and added, "Not even you could manage that every time."

Cynthia's hands fell back to her sides and she bit her lip as she looked to the ground, before chuckling, "I guess I can't."

"I wouldn't force you to, so you shouldn't force yourself either. You do know that you have plenty of friends to talk to if you need any help?"

Cynthia nodded. She placed a gentle hand on her mount's side, who gave her shoulder a quick nuzzle in return. Looking back to Lucina she said, "Really though, I'm fine. Maybe I'm having a moment, but I'm fine. I didn't even realise I'd said what I'd said."

"Either way, I'll give you some time alone now," Lucina said with a nod of her head, "Thank you again for the lesson today." Cynthia simply nodded back before turning her attention to her mount. Lucina turned to leave, yet paused in the stable doorway. Looking back, she saw Cynthia muttering something to the pegasus while slowly running the brush over its side.

"Cynthia?" The girl looked back up, as did the mount. Lucina smiled and said, "I would like to continue learning, if you would continue teaching me." A smile spread wide across Cynthia's face and she nodded, her pigtails bouncing enthusiastically.

"Of course I would! We can keep trying tomorrow! I mean, we're still in town, and hey, we can move on to weapons training!"

Lucina nodded. "Sounds like a plan. I'll come get you for dinner when its ready." Cynthia gave her an over-enthusiastic salute, earning her a chuckle out of Lucina, and then she finally left the girl and her mount alone in the stables.

* * *

**This was just a fun wee fic I wanted to write, inspired by the reclassing system in the game.**

**I didn't want to make Cynthia and Lucina's relationship clear outside of them being friends for the sake of you guys, the audience, so youse can imagine it as you like; if you tend to make them sisters, then they can be sisters (since sisters can still think of each other as friends). Likewise, if you tend to marry Sumia and Chrom to different people, then they can be just straight-up friends.**

**Hope it was all right, especially for my first Awakening fic.**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Angel-chan x**


End file.
